Enabling technologies for military and aerospace electronics designers
Navigation equipment
Smiths to provide land navigation for British Challenger 2 main battle tank
Smiths Aerospace in Grand Rapids, Mich., received a production contract for 336 Land Navigation System (LNS) for the British Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank (MBT) Platform-Battlefield Integrated System Application (P-BISA) upgrade program.
The contract is from Alvis Vickers Ltd. in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The Challenger 2 NavPAC order will exceed $10 million including add-on orders for integrated logistics support and system spares, Smiths officials say.
With the addition of the planned spares, the Challenger 2 NavPAC quantity is expected to approach 400 systems. The systems are manufactured at the Smiths facility in Grand Rapids, Mich.; production deliveries will be until 2006.
The Challenger 2 P-BISA Land Navigation System with precision attitude capability (NavPAC) configuration consists of an inertial reference unit (IRU), distance measurement unit (DMU), and DMU coupler. For more information contact Smiths Aerospace online at www.smiths-aerospace.com.
Computers
UAE air carrier chooses flight-management computers from CMC Electronics
Officials of the Dubai Air Wing air carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) needed flight-management computers for their C-130 Hercules L100-30 cockpit upgrade program. The CMA-900 flight management system (FMS) from CMC Electronics in Montreal met their needs.
CMC officials are providing their CMA-900 FMS as the core of the upgrade, while the Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. in Abu Dhabi, UAE — otherwise known as GAMCO — is prime contractor for the project.
The Dubai Air Wing configuration is a multisensor system based on an integrated dual CMA-900 flight management system. This configuration helps deliver 100 percent dispatch reliability anywhere in the world, and seamless navigation from takeoff to final approach, CMC officials say.
This upgrade will enable the Dubai Air Wing to meet all precision area navigation, flight data recording, and terrain avoidance warning requirements, CMC officials say.
For more information contact CMC Electronics by phone at 514-748-3148, or online at http://www.cmcelectronics.ca.
Power electronics
Electro Standards Labs to research motor control for the Navy
Power systems designers at Electro Standards Laboratories in Cranston, R.I., are set to continue their work to extend the state of the art in sensorless control to linear motor systems, under terms of a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) phase-2 contract from the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center in Washington.
Electro Standards experts are concentrating on the demanding transient requirements of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system — otherwise known as EMALS. They will assess several methods and develop a new sensorless controller for linear motors for future EMALS.
Electro Standards specializes in advanced electric motor control systems, and performs substantial research in this area, company officials say.
A sensorless controller will benefit linear motor and rotational motor systems, Electro Standards officials say. Servo-grade performance without mechanical sensors can improve reliability, survivability, and reduce the cost for closed-loop control in military, industrial, and commercial applications.
For more information contact Electro Standards Laboratories by phone at 401-943-1164, or online at www.electrostandards.com.
Communications equipment
Navy turns to Harris for long-range HF radios
Communications experts at the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego needed new high-frequency (HF) radios for U.S. Navy surface ships. They found their solution from the Harris RF Communications Division in Rochester, N.Y.
Harris officials are providing SPAWAR with their company's Falcon(R) II line of software-defined HF radios under terms of a $12 million indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract with a ceiling price of $41 million.
Harris will supply HF broadband communications systems for Navy warships, including San Antonio-class amphibious transport ships, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, and Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers.
This is the third contract Harris RF Communications has received as part of the update of the HF systems of the Navy fleet.
The High Frequency Radio Group (HFRG) at Harris RF Communications is offering the Navy a set of HF communications building blocks that can be configured to satisfy a variety of naval platforms.
Harris radio designers will configure elements such as receiver and exciters, power amplifiers, couplers, and controllers in this modular system to support the concepts and goals in the Joint Tactical Radio System Airborne, Maritime, Fixed Station (JTRS AMF) procurement.
For more information contact Harris RF Communications at 585-244-5830, or online at www.rfcomm.harris.com.
